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Viorica Ghican

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Viorica Ghican
Personal information
Born (1965-06-09) 9 June 1965 (age 59)
Sport
Country Romania
SportAthletics
EventLong-distance running
Retired1998
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)1500 m: 4:02.76 (1988)
3000 m: 8:42.39 (1988)
5000 m: 15:09.90 (1990)
10,000 m: 31:18.18 (1990)

Viorica Dima Ghican (born 9 June 1965) is a Romanian female former distance runner who competed over distances from 1500 metres to 10,000 metres. She competed in track, road and cross country running disciplines. She was the gold medallist in the 10,000 m at the 1989 Summer Universiade, setting a games record in the process.[1] Among her other individual honours were gold medals at the Balkan Athletics Championships and World University Cross Country Championships in 1988, and silver medals at the 1990 Goodwill Games and 1989 European Cup.[2][3][4][5]

Ghican represented Romania five times at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships from 1986 to 1997, with her best performances being eighth place in the 1990 senior women's race and a team bronze medal at the 1996 competition.[6] She also won international honours in ekiden (marathon relays), including individual and team wins at the Barcelona Ekiden and International Chiba Ekiden in 1990.[7]

Her personal best time of 31:18.18 minutes for the 10,000 m was the fastest time in the world in the 1990 season.[8] This was a Romanian national record until 2002, when it was beaten by Mihaela Botezan.[9] Although she continues to rank high on the Romanian lists, she never won a national title as she was overshadowed by contemporaries such as Olympic champions Maricica Puică and Paula Ivan (who beat her to the 3000 m gold at the 1989 Universiade), as well as Elena Murgoci, Iulia Olteanu and Elena Fidatov among others in a high point for Romanian women's distance running.[10]

On the track and field circuit she won races at the Janusz Kusociński Memorial (1987), and the Meadowlands Invitational, Meeting de Paris, Meeting de Atletismo Sevilla and Helsinki Grand Prix in 1990.[6][11][7] She was third in the 5000 m at the 1990 IAAF Grand Prix Final, which resulted in her placing second behind PattiSue Plumer in the series rankings.[12]

She grew up in Târgu Jiu and was part of a successful group of local runners training under coach Ion Bură, which included Constantina Diță, Luminița Gogârlea and Ion Avramescu. She later fell out with Bură and became a running coach herself at CS Pandurii Târgu Jiu, though she spoke highly of him and his training methods. She married Marcel Dima, a former footballer and referee.[13]

International competitions

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
1986 World Cross Country Championships Colombier, Switzerland 73rd Senior race 16:07.4
8th Team 140 pts[14]
1987 European Cup B Final Gothenburg, Sweden 4th 10,000 m 32:54.88
1988 World University Cross Country Championships Bologna, Italy 1st Senior race 18:42
1st Team
Balkan Championships Ankara, Turkey 2nd 1500 m 4:06.58
1st 3000 m 9:07.99
1989 European Cup Gateshead, United Kingdom 2nd 10,000 m 32:41.34
Universiade Duisburg, Germany 2nd 3000 m 8:46.27
1st 10,000 m 31:46.43
1990 European Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom 4th 3000 m 9:00.92
World Cross Country Championships Aix-les-Bains, France 8th Senior race 19:47
4th Team 102 pts
Goodwill Games Seattle, United States 2nd 10,000 m 15:27.77
European Championships Split, Yugoslavia 13th 10,000 m 32:55.18
International Chiba Ekiden Chiba, Japan 1st 10K 32:10
1st Team
Barcelona Ekiden Barcelona, Spain 1st 10K 34:00
1st Team
1991 World Cross Country Championships Antwerp, Belgium 25th Senior race 21:16
7th Team 148 pts
Yokohama International Women's Ekiden Yokohama, Japan 1st 7.2K 22:43
1996 World Cross Country Championships Stellenbosch, South Africa 38th Senior race 21:37
3rd Team 70 pts[14]
Yokohama International Women's Ekiden Yokohama, Japan 13th 10K 34:18
Beijing International Women's Ekiden Beijing, China 3rd 5K 16:40
International Chiba Ekiden Chiba, Japan 2nd 5.2K 17:19
1997 World Cross Country Championships Turin, Italy 84th Senior race 22:50
11th Team 189 pts[14]
Balkan Championships Athens, Greece 2nd 1500 m 4:10.52

References

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  1. ^ World Student Games (women). GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
  2. ^ World University Cross Country Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
  3. ^ Balkan Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
  4. ^ European Cup A Final (women). GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
  5. ^ Goodwill Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
  6. ^ a b Viorica Ghican. World Athletics. Retrieved on 2020-03-14.
  7. ^ a b Viorica Ghican. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
  8. ^ World Top Performers. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
  9. ^ ROM Record Progressions- Track. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
  10. ^ Romanian Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
  11. ^ Litsky, Frank (1990-02-11). TRACK AND FIELD; Bonus Run Eludes Elliott. New York Times. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
  12. ^ IAAF Grand Prix. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
  13. ^ Viorica Dima Ghican despre atletism, împlinirile vieții de sportiv și întâlnirea cu Ion Bură: „A fost șansa vieții mele” (in Romanian). Sport in Gorj (2013-03-01). Retrieved 2020-03-14.
  14. ^ a b c Non-point scoring performance
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